An anonymous CIA whistleblower has dropped a bombshell allegation, claiming that six analysts within the agency were bribed to dismiss the theory that COVID-19 could have originated from a research-related lab leak.

The revelation comes as part of a congressional investigation led by Representative Brad Wenstrup (R–OH), who chairs the House of Representatives’s Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, the New York Post reported.

According to the whistleblower, only one senior analyst within a seven-member CIA team investigating the virus’s origin supported the theory that the virus could have spilled over from animals to humans, commonly referred to as the zoonotic transmission theory.

The remaining six team members, as alleged by the whistleblower, were incentivized with a “significant monetary incentive” to change their stance, favoring the lab-origin hypothesis instead.

These sensational claims have ignited a fierce debate, further dividing opinions on the origins of the pandemic.

While most U.S. intelligence agencies have leaned towards the theory that COVID-19 likely originated from an infected animal host, particularly at a wildlife market in Wuhan, China, the Department of Energy and the FBI have shown a preference for the lab-leak hypothesis.

CIA Director of Public Affairs Tammy Kupperman Thorp swiftly responded to the allegations, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to analytical rigor, integrity, and objectivity.

She vehemently denied the claim, stating, “We do not pay analysts to reach specific conclusions.”

Representative Wenstrup and Representative Mike Turner (R–OH), who chairs the intelligence panel, have requested documents and communications related to the CIA’s COVID Discovery Team.

They are particularly interested in interactions with other government branches and the financial histories of team members, signaling their intention to dig deeper into this controversy.

The U.S. intelligence community has been criticized for providing only limited information on their analyses regarding the virus’s origin.

This has left proponents of the lab-leak theory and proponents of a natural origin frustrated, as they believe more transparency is needed to justify the conclusions drawn by infectious disease researchers and virologists.

Some researchers have revealed their interactions with intelligence agencies during investigations into the virus’s origin.

Evolutionary biologist Kristian Andersen of Scripps Research and virologist Robert Garry of Tulane University have both cooperated with the CIA on this matter.

Andersen dismissed the whistleblower’s claim as “obviously…bogus,” while Garry described it as “ludicrous,” asserting that the CIA agents he encountered had a solid grasp of the science involved.